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130 suspected overdose calls in 1 day, all lives saved: B.C. paramedics

Friday saw the highest number of suspected overdose calls since April 2017
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Ambulances outside Bulkley Valley District Hospital. (Michael Grace-Dacosta photo)

B.C.’s paramedics were extraordinarily busy Friday, responding to a staggering 130 suspected overdoses in the region.

According to BC Emergency Health Services, such a high number of calls has only ever been seen one other time, in April 2017.

The provincial service, which oversees the BC Ambulance Service and the BC Patient Transfer Network, said all lives were saved.

A study on BC Centre for Disease Control data found that, in 2016, opioid overdose antidote naloxone prevented 26 per cent of possible overdose deaths in the province.

READ MORE: Drug overdoses continue to kill more than 3 people each day in B.C.

According to the most current data by the BC Coroners Service, there have been 620 illicit drug overdose deaths between January and May this year.

Free naloxone kits were made available in pharmacies across B.C. in late 2017.


@ashwadhwani
ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca

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About the Author: Ashley Wadhwani-Smith

I began my journalistic journey at Black Press Media as a community reporter in my hometown of Maple Ridge, B.C.
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